The evolution of Rihanna

It's hard to believe that Rihanna's only been in the music business for two years. Her journey from an unknown island girl to a household name has been swift, and it speaks to the level of talent she has, as well as to the impressiveness of the Def Jam publicity machinery.

One of the things that Rihanna has obviously learnt well is how to keep the public and media interested by changing her image and fashion style, and Rih Rih's image has certainly evolved from that of a wholesome Caribbean girl to that of a Hollywood femme fatale. Here's my pictorial of Rihanna's evolution over the past two years....


www.casafree.com
Ahh, those good old days back in August 2005 when Rihanna was portrayed as a bubbly, cute, teen sensation from Barbados. Pon de Replay ruled the airwaves, the broken trident was prominent in her videos and she still liked us Bajans. Precious memories, how they linger...


http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com
In April 2006, Rihanna released her second album, A Girl Like Me. The island girl feel wasn't totally gone from her albums, but singles such as Unfaithful, Break It Off and We Ride introduced an unmistakable edge to her music, and gave a hint of what was to come.


http://img.timeinc.net
Back in October 2006, a classy Rihanna headlined along with music stars Lionel Richie and John Legend at a special Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway.


www.femme-en-ville.com
This summer, Rihanna released her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, and like the name of the album suggests, her wholesome image was replaced by that of a sultry, edgy femme fatale. She got tattooed as well, a sure sign that she taking this 'bad girl' business seriously. (eyeroll)


www.vibe.com
The monster single Umbrella may remain the signature tune of Rihanna's third album. It went to number one on the charts in the U.S.A. and other countries like a rocket, and in the UK it stayed there for 10 consecutive weeks. Suddenly, it was cool to walk with an umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh....



www.justjared.com
And now we come to the Rihanna of today. Since her last album she's moved to Los Angeles, and I guess she has the space there to keep a dog because she's photographed a lot with her puppy DJ these days. The edgy hairstyle and plunging necklines are still there too.

I can't wait to see how she's gonna transform herself for her next album. She's only 19 so the possibilities abound. Once she stays clear of the Hilton/Lohan/Spears/Kardashian/The Hills crew, she should be okay. And put a jacket on 'fore you get pneumonia, chile. California gets cold too, you know!